Trains and traffic have been successfully separated on Abbotts Road in Dandenong South with a 10-day construction blitz to remove the level crossing finishing over the weekend.
Regular train services between Cranbourne and Dandenong resumed on Saturday at 9am to mark the end of intensive construction campaign.
The team worked hard over the past 10 days to put the finishing touches on the 410m rail bridge, including installation of train signalling and overhead equipment to power trains as well as linking in the new and existing track either side of the bridge.
A highlight of the construction blitz was removing the boom gates on the first full day of the blitz, with a community and trader event held to watch them be taken away for good.
There will now be no more waiting at the boom gates for the more than 20,000 vehicles that pass through this busy industrial area each day. In addition, it will improve safety for train passengers on the Cranbourne Line.
Located in a largely industrial area and just off the busy South Gippsland Highway, the Abbotts Road level crossing hosts a high number of trucks each day.
No more boom gates mean no more frustrating boom gate delays for these vehicles, while the clear safety benefits of separating road and rail ensures no more serious collisions or near misses involving trains at this location.
In 2012, the risk that exists at all level crossings became reality when a truck and a train collided at the Abbotts Road level crossing, resulting in a train passenger fatality and several injuries.
This incident was one of 5 collisions or near misses reported at this level crossing over the past decade, with each level crossing removed leading to safer, more reliable road and rail networks.
Work crews will continue to put the finishing touches on the project over coming months, including road, footpath and landscaping works.